The Gift of Sight
by DarqueDeath4444
Summary: Morino Ibiki is a shinobi recognized if not by his name, then by his face. His scars disturb many, and children run at the sight. So when he comes across a girl with chakra vision, he doesn't know what to do with her. Especially when she taken as instant liking to him. For the girl, like any other Haruno, a clan that lost their sight in exchange for their chakra vision, cannot see.
1. Chapter 1

**We're not gonna say anything...**

 _ **Chapter ONE**_

Green eyes blinked.

A flash of blue streaked through her vision.

Teat was a mother rabbit.

The girl waited patiently for the rabbit to vanished, then waited a little more just to be safe. All she needed was the general direction. She slipped out of her hiding place and trotted along the trail of chakra left behind.

She could now sense them too. Pretty far, but still there.

That rabbit was a mother to three little baby rabbits. They were very young, too young to run, but their faint presences had helped conceal them.

 _But they couldn't hide form her._

The quickened her pace. The mother rabbit, having noticed her approach, hopped around her feet, trying to chase her away.

She ignored her.

 _Nothing could hide form her._

She could see the chakra belonging to the rabbits spike in fear.

She ignored that too. She sent out chakra strings, snaring her dinner.

A few minutes later, she was gnawing on her first meal in days.

She could see all the sources of food in the forest, but she couldn't eat if she couldn't catch them.

Quickly finishing her meal, she went on her way.

It had been year since her parents had died, her clan killed off. There might have been others like her. Survivors. However, she hadn't bumped into any of them yet.

If they did exist.

But it didn't matter.

To a five year old girl left to fend for herself, survival came first. Everything else could wait.

* * *

The girl had been drinking from the river, quenching a day's worth of thirst, when she saw them. Their chakra was of a very highly skilled team of shinobi. She could see that from the way their chakra signatures were forced down and preened to hide within the wild.

But no matter how skilled they were, they wouldn't be able to find her by sensing her, so as long as she didn't show herself, she should be fine.

To someone who could sense any and all chakra around them, they could tell how bright and... _loud_ their own chakra was. Every single on of her kind had mastered the skill of camouflaging their chakra to fit into their environment.

From the firm, sturdy circulation of the chakra from a tree, to the skittish, rapid circulation coming from an animal, to the steady, occasionally spiking chakra of a person, she knew them all. She could see any and all chakra in her vicinity. Her vision was 360, her otherwise black surroundings splotched with splattered of white and blue of chakra.

This ability was unlike a certain Dojutsu she had once heard of, which allowed one to see the chakra circulation of people. Her ability didn't cost chakra.

Her skill to see chakra was just like how someone saw through their eyes.

But instead of seeing the world as 'forest' and 'people' and 'houses', her kind saw them as 'forest chakra', 'human chakra', 'chakra-less object'.

Her ability was the best there was to live in a place full of trees and animals and chakra and life.

But she wouldn't survive long in a place where things without chakra was a constant existence in life.

Like a village.

For her ability to see chakra came with a price.

* * *

Morino Ibiki was a shinobi recognized if not by his name, then certainly by his face.

He could feed the way people flinched away at his scars, and if it bothered him once, he couldn't remember.

Or, he couldn't remember the time he had showed that it bothered him.

He had been sent out on a mission with an ANBU team to interrogate some missing-nin who had been scouting around Konoha for a while. Said missing-nin had escaped Konoha a few days ago, but had been captured by an ANBU team. The missing-nin had attempted a suicide, but he had failed to die. However, he was close to death, and the ANBU team couldn't risk moving him.

Ibiki and Shizune, had been sent out to try and stabilize him, and extract information from him if the wounds were too fatal.

Ibiki didn't really care, to be honest.

He had gotten out from the man that he had been hoping to sell some forbidden scroll to someone else, before he had died of blood loss.

His self inflicted pain had made him delusional, and Ibiki didn't really have to do much.

They were on their way back to Konoha, and had decided to rest for the night. The village wasn't that far away, but the ANBU team, led by Hatake Kakashi, and once the mission was over (ish), the Hatake had decided to let out the laziness he had been suppressing during the mission.

His team, consisting of Uzuki Yugao, Tenzo, and a recently promoted Uchiha Itachi, didn't object.

Or maybe they had just given up.

Shizune was running around collecting herbs that grew in the area.

And Ibiki was in a bad mood, because he didn't get to move onto any _real_ interrogation before the man had spilled and died.

He shot Kakashi a look, to see that the man was sitting under a tree, reading his orange book. He sighed and got to his feet. Maybe he should go cool down.

* * *

And that was the action he regretted the most that day, for now, he was crouched in front of a young, sleeping girl curled up underneath a small tree. Her baggy clothes were caked with mud and leaves, and she was worryingly thin.

His first thought was why Yugao, the sensor on the ANBU team, hadn't managed to sense this girl, for they weren't even that far away.

His second thought was that he was right next to her, and if he hadn't known the girl was there, he wouldn't have noticed her too.

And then, he realized that it was because the girl's chakra was camouflaged by the tree behind her.

Even from here, Ibiki would sense the chakra of the ANBU team, and they had suppressed the aura as much as they could. They could pass off as a civilians as long as no one say their attire.

The girl, on the other hand, could pass off as a tree.

He reached out to wake her up, only to hesitate.

This was a young child.

Perhaps he should call Yugao, or Shizune, or someone. Someone who wouldn't scare this child upon awakening.

He was about to get up, when the girl decided to make the decision for him. She shifted, and slowly opened her eyes. She blinked rapidly a few times, before she shot up, staring at Ibiki.

* * *

She could tell that this person in front of her was a shinobi.

It was one of the signatures she had seen earlier. She had thought that she was far enough to not be noticed.

She could feel the person's chakra spike a few times before he got it under control, and she could see the rest of the man's team freeze.

"Who are you?" She asked cautiously.

* * *

Ibiki blinked, surprised that the scream was yet to come. He could sense the ANBU team shuffling around in their makeshift camp, and he knew they had sensed his chakra flare.

Perhaps it was a good thing.

He slowly crouched back down. The words 'Aren't you afraid?' lay on the tip of his tongue, but he pushed it back.

"I could ask you the same thing." He inwardly winced when his interrogator persona slipped out. He was used to being the one that asked questions, not the other way around.

* * *

The girl watched the person's-the man's, according to his voice-chakra give a faint spike, the way it did when one told a lie.

"Liar." She shifted into a more comfortable sitting position. "That's not what you want to ask."

She saw the man's chakra flinch is shock.

* * *

Ibiki was surprised. How had this girl known...

He could sense Itachi and Yugao approaching their spot.

Ibiki hesitated for a second. "My name is Morino Ibiki."

She girl scrunched up her face before she relented. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

Ibiki hummed. That was progress.

Also, that name seemed to ring a bell somewhere in his mind. He just couldn't remember where he had heard it...

* * *

The girl could see them too. She got to her feet, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

Two of the man's teammates burst through the trees, and she saw their chakra move in a sign of surprise.

They couldn't sens her previously, and was surprised by her presence.

* * *

"Morino-san." The Uchiha said.

Ibiki turned to face the two ANBU.

"Who's...this?" Yugao asked.

Ibiki shrugged, turning back to the girl. "Sakura."

* * *

The girl didn't know what to do. She had never come across this situation, because she had never been found. Perhaps she had decided to rest a little too close to their camp site, but usually, it was safe enough.

These people were skilled.

She could tell.

* * *

"What are you doing out here?" Yugao spoke up. She crouched down in front of the girl, her mask off.

"I live here."

The girl's chakra didn't even shift, something which it did when children who didn't yet know how to suppress their chakra lied.

"How about parents?" Yugao pressed.

"Don't have any." Sakura stretched. "Cause they're dead."

She could see the three of them turn to look as each other.

"Sakura-chan, why don't you come with us." Yugao finally spoke up. "If you have nowhere to go, the village can take you in. It's dangerous to be out here."

The girl's expression instantly became guarded. ""My old village was destroyed."

Ibiki decided that he wouldn't press on this subject. Forcing someone to reveal something they didn't want to was a delicate process, and physical torture on a young girl who didn't even look ten didn't seem like a good idea.

"Konoha is a very safe village." Yugao told the girl gently.

* * *

"Konoha." Sakura had heard of that village before. A clan with abilities similar to hers lived there.

Konoha was a huge village, that she knew. Many people, shinobi and civilians alike lived there.

Her previous village was more like a huge garden. It wasn't very big, and only the Haruno's lived there.

That was, until a few years ago, when a single person had stormed through, killing everyone.

Sakura could still remember the man. His red hair had stood out in the sea of pink. She also remembered the hundreds of puppets the man had controlled.

This memory was drowned in the horror of seeing her clansmen hacked down one by one, and the fascination.

She had read about puppets. How the number of puppets a puppeteer could control was a proof of how strong a puppeteer was.

That had led her to learn the one skill she knew. The one skill that had aided her in her life in the wild.

It would be nice to widen her arsenal.

"Mkay."

* * *

Yugao led the girl back to their camp, where she explained the situation to Kakashi.

The man simply nodded.

The village wouldn't have a problem taking in a girl. The decision would be the Hokage, Namikaze Minato's to make.

Then a thought hit him. "What did you say her name was?"

"Haruno Sakura." Yugao said.

Kakashi turned to look at the girl, who was chattering animatedly at Ibiki.

Ibiki still looked slightly surprised, and Kakashi understood his feeling. The girl hadn't shuddered once at the man's scars.

He put everything together.

He had once read of the Haruno clan, their abilities often mentioned in their likeliness to the Byakugan.

However, he also knew about the one big difference between the two.

A Byakugan user could switch the Dojutsu on and off according to the situation. They switched between normal vision and their chakra vision.

However, Haruno's were different.

To them, 'normal vision' was chakra vision.

They saw all living things as chakra, and everything else as the blackness of nothing.

The girl, like any other Haruno, couldn't _see._

* * *

 **So...another new story...**

 **You know the drill...**

 **If you like it, leave a review, or something...**

 _ **Darque: We've decided to write out all our new ideas.**_

 **Raven: W're then just going to update when we feel like it...**

 **Read and Review~**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter TWO**_

No matter how much Ibiki scowled, Sakura just wouldn't let him go.

Then again, he had learned from Kakashi that she couldn't exactly see him, so maybe that was why.

But wasn't she supposed to be able to see chakra? Then why couldn't she see his chakra boiling in annoyance?

"We should get going now." Kakashi decided. The last of the camping equipment had been put away, and everyone was just standing around, waiting for Kakashi to finish his current chapter.

Sakura was hanging from Ibiki's neck. Some nonexistent person had nominated Ibiki to carry the girl on the way back and no one seemed to have a problem with it.

"Ibiki?"

Sakura prodded.

Ibiki grunted.

Sakura just giggled and tightened her grip.

* * *

The moment they stepped into the village, people stopped what they were doing to stare at them. Well, more like, stare at Ibiki.

Sakura had fallen asleep sometime during their return trip and was now being carried by an reluctant Ibiki. The scarred man snarled at some random Chunin who dropped the scroll he had been reading, then proceeded to take the roof top to the Hokage's office.

The news of Ibiki carrying a child would spread like a wildfire.

The earlier he could get rid of her, the better, or so he told himself.

* * *

At Minato's office, Kakashi gave a brief report on what had happened.

The Hokage then turned to Ibiki, who gave a short version on how he had met the girl in the forest.

"The Haruno clan was wiped out a year or so ago." Kakashi said. "I was on the team that was sent out to investigate." The Haruno clan village had been located South East from Konoha, between the Fire country and the Water country. "We didn't find any survivors, just puppets left behind by the presumed attacker."

"There isn't much information available on the Haruno clan's chakra vision. We don't know how much they can see, and how much they can't see." Ibiki had said, albeit begrudgingly, on Sakura's behalf. "Someone's going to have to stick with her for a while."

Minato frowned for a second, before he nodded. "Very well. Konoha shall take in the girl." He smiled. "Kushina's always wanted a girl. I'm sure she'll agree to take in the girl for a while until she is either old enough to take care of herself, or until proper accommodations can be made."

Sakura chose that moment to wake up.

Ibiki sighed when the girl whacked him across the face when stretching. She blinked a few times, looking around curiously.

Her eyes widened and she looked around rapidly, as if she had just noticed where they were.

She struggled out of Ibiki's grasp, gasping when she landed in a heap on the floor. She patted at the ground curiously, then wobbly got to her feet. She grasped the sleeve of Ibiki's black coat, ignoring his futile attempts to yank it free.

"Where are we, Ibiki?"

"Konoha." Ibiki turned the girl around to face an amused looking Minato. "That's the Hokage."

Sakura blinked. "That's like, the leader of the village, right?"

Minato smiled. "Nice to meet you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura opened her mouth, then closed it again. After a few seconds, her face bloomed in a smile of her own. "Hi, Hokage-sama!"

Minato chuckled. "You'll be staying with me and my family until proper arrangements can be made, okay?"

Sakura frowned. "How 'bout Ibiki?'

Said man groaned.

* * *

After Sakura reluctantly said a good bye to a trying-to-act-pleased Ibiki, Minato took the girl by her hand and led her towards his house. Kushina and Naruto should both be home.

People stared even as they politely greeted their Hokage.

Sakura clung to Minato's side, not letting go.

Sakura could see the street because of the chakra trails left in layers due to the amount of people that walked over it ever since the village had first been made. After a while, even nonliving objects absorbed the chakra of their surroundings, and that made things a little easier.

Just a little, for it took a long time, and not everything in Konoha had been there for that long.

Minato opened the door, calling through it. "I'm home!"

There was a crash from within the house, followed by a "You're early!"

"Tou-chan!" A blur of chakra burst from the other side of the corridor, only for the person to freeze upon seeing her. "Who's that?"

Sakura tensed at the chakra rolling off the boy in waves.

"Naruto." Minato sighed.

Kushina walked into sight, eyeing Sakura curiously. "Who's this?"

Minato smiled. "This is Haruno Sakura." He told them. "She'll be staying with us for a while."

Kushina's eyes brightened, and she flew to the girl's side. "Oh my, she's cute." She smiled gently at the girl. "Hello. I'm Kushina."

Sakura wagged her fingers in Kushina's direction, knowing that the woman was smiling.

Smiling was where one changed their facial expression to show happiness.

She remembered hearing that somewhere, and offered a smile of her own.

Kushina straightened and she crossed her arms. "We'll see what Mikoto-chan'll say about this cutie pie joining us!"

* * *

"I'm Namikaze Naruto, dattebayo!" Naruto jumped and landed in front of Sakura, who flinched back a little before stepped forward.

"I'm Sakura." She said.

"Hey! We can be friends, 'ttebayo." Naruto grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the stairs. "I'll show her to the rooms, yeah?"

He didn't even wait for an response. The two vanished up into the rooms.

Minato sighed.

"You can stay here." Naruto announced, leading Sakura into the empty room beside his. "After this, I'll take you to the park. Sasuke-teme and I're meeting up and I'll introduce you!" He grinned. "We're entering the Academy next year, and I can't wait! I'm gonna be the best in our year, 'ttebayo!"

Sakura hummed, carefully using her chakra to inspect the room.

She took a deep breath and flicked her fingers. A faint wave soon hit her, and she redid this a few times until she had an absolute layout of the room in her mind.

Now she had a mental image of the room, which she had created by sensing the chakra that had been reflected back to her.

It had been a grand rule in her clan, to be always aware of her surroundings.

As a clan that had a different kind of sight, they needed to be able to adapt and use this advantage.

"You wanna go now?" Naruto asked.

Satisfied, she nodded shyly.

* * *

"Tou-chan! We're gonna go to the park!"

Minato sighed as he watched Naruto pull Sakura out of the house by her wrist.

He was slightly worried about the girl's sight problem, but he figured that that could wait until later.

She seemed to be able to see enough that she could avoid running into him on the way out.

* * *

"SASUKE-TEME!" Naruto bolted form Sakura's side, diving somewhere.

There was a snarl of annoyance before it was drowned out, and Sakura assumed that the boy Naruto was now sitting on was 'Sasuke'.

"Hn, Dobe."

"What did you say!"

Sasuke didn't reply, and Sakura saw his chakra shit and he was now looking at her. "What'd you want?" He asked.

Being an Uchiha, he was gifted (or cursed) with the good looking genes, and he was wary of every creature that was a part of the 'girl' species.

"Ah!" Naruto jumped to his feet and reached Sakura's side. "This is Sakura-chan! She'll be living in our house for a while." He scowled when Sasuke got to his feet. "And she's _my_ friend!"

Sasuke scowled back. "Who's want a Dobe friend?" He asked, then turned to Sakura. "You can be _my_ friend."

Sakura placed her hands on her hips. "I'm Ibiki's friend." She told them.

"Ibiki? Who's Ibiki?" Naruto asked, almost accusingly.

"Ibiki's my friend."

Sasuke scowled even deeper. "Well, we can be your...other friends." He finished lamely.

Sakura thought about this. "That's okay." She agreed.

* * *

Sakura looked up when she saw a familiar chakra walk through the street on the other side of the cluster of buildings behind her, closely followed by another person.

She got to her feet and widened her eyes to expand her sense.

The truth way, it didn't really help, but it did make her feel better.

She noted that Sasuke and Naruto were rolling around in what she had learnt was a 'sand pit'. She frowned, then turned back to the familiar chakra signature that was walking rapidly through the street.

She cloaked the her chakra signature to the point she was just about conscious of it and no one else would be able to sense it unless they were specifically looking for her's. Even that might be hard too.

She darted off after the flare of chakra. She sent out her chakra in small quantities, so that only she could see and sense it. They reflected images of the street back to her, and she used it to avoid most of the chakra-less obstacles. She ran past people, for they had chakra signature, and followed that one specific chakra trail left behind.

The chakra signature soon broke away from the crowd, and when Sakura spun around the corner, she saw a building looming up ahead.

She sent out another wave of chakra and noticed that there was some shapes carved into the wooden sign, but she didn't recognized is. Shrugging to herself, she darted towards the entrance.

Her smile widened when she sensed Ibiki's chakra from inside. It had stopped, and it seemed like he was talking so someone else.

Sakura marched into the building. She ignored the surprised flare of chakra coming from the person sitting at the entrance table. However, that attracted the attention of all the others in the vicinity, including Ibiki's

Said man groaned.

"Ibiki!" Sakura ran into the man.

"Sakura." Ibiki sighed and halfheartedly patted the girl's head. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you." Sakura said. "From the park."

"But we were no where near the park." A very pale-haired blond spoke up.

Sakura recognized the man that had been walking with Ibiki.

"I know. I just saw you." She turned away form the confused man and smiled up at Ibiki. "I made other friends, you see?"

Ibiki hummed. "Yeah?"

"There's a Naruto and a Sasuke. You're my friend, so they're my other friends."

"I...see." No he did not see.

Sakura nodded, smile widening.

"And what are you doing here?" Ibiki asked. He could feel the looks of shock his subordinates were shooting him.

"I saw you." Sakura repeated, as if that was the answer to everything.

Ibiki sighed. "I see." No, he _really_ did not see.

* * *

"So, what do you do here?" Sakura looked around the building. She could see chakra signatures littered in the underground layer of the structure. They were fluttering, as if in pain. She crouched down and fixed her gaze onto the floor.

To many, it looked like she was looking at the tiled ground. However, Ibiki knew she was looking right through it.

Ibiki placed a hand over the girl's eyes. "That's confidential." He told her.

Sakura wriggled away from Ibiki and crossed her hands. "Okay."

Ibiki rubbed above his eyebrows. "Does anyone know you're here?"

Sakura shrugged. "Sasuke and Naruto were messing around, and then I saw you, and I just followed you."

 _So, no._

Ibiki sighed.

He seemed to be doing that often these days.

"Come on, brat." Ibiki led a beaming Sakura out of the building.

Once Ibiki was gone, the T&I office burst into questions.

"What...was that?"

* * *

 **So, chapter one here!**

 **Really, we've never gotten to much follows in one chapter! (119 at this moment in time)**

 **If you haven't done so, check out our other stories, okay?**

 **Also, our first ever Cross over (NARUTO x Harry Potter) is up! It's a side story to 'Of Tales Now and Long Ago', but we've tried to write it so it can stand alone...**

 **Of Team Riki: At Hogwarts**

 **Hired by Voldemort, Team Riki consisting of Itachi, Sakura, Neji and Shikamaru attend Hogwarts as spies and as weapons for the coming war. However, as they watch Harry Potter and his friends struggle against a seemingly unbeatable force, they are reminded of Konoha. This was supposed to be a mission, nothing emotional, but they begin to doubt if they are on the right side.**

 **Do check it out!**

 **ALSO, PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **Darque 'n Raven**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter THREE**_

Ibiki took Sakura back to Minato's house, just as the Hokage himself appeared with worried eyes.

He must have been about to go look for her.

Minato stared at Sakura in shock for a few moments, and Ibiki realized the problem.

"While in the village, you have to keep your chakra uncloaked." Ibiki told the girl.

Sakura blinked, and a frown appeared on her face."But if my chakra's uncloaked, people can find me..." She trailed off, her frown deepening, as if she had realized something wrong with her statement, but didn't know what it was.

Ibiki sighed. "This is a safe village." He told her gently as he could. "If people cannot find you in a safe village where nothing is supposed to happen, they will worry."

Sakura's face brightened and Ibiki sighed, having realized that the girl hadn't been listening to him.

"But if my chakra is uncloaked, you'll sense me the moment I try to follow you!" She pointed accusingly at Ibiki, as if _he_ were the reason for this whole mess.

Ibiki held back his eyebrow from twitching.

 _The brat had just made him the villain of their situation!_

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms in a way that said she was doing it only because she had been asked. Her chakra signature appeared in a flash. "There."

Not knowing what else to do, Ibiki ruffled the girl's hair.

Sakura preened at the contact.

Ibiki passed Sakura over to the Hokage, telling him about how she had followed him to the T&I department.

Minato nodded his head to show that he had heard. Ibiki bowed at the blond before he nodded at Sakura in goodbye. Sakura pouted but didn't say anything as the man walked off.

Minato led Sakura back into the house, where Naruto jumped onto her with a hug. "Sakura-chan! You just vanished! I was so worried!"

Sakura patted the boy on the back. "Sorry. I won't...do it again."

Naruto grinned and pulled the girl towards the second floor. "We're meeting Sasuke at the park again tomorrow. This time, we'll play something else..."

Once everyone was out of earshot, Minato began to chuckle.

Everyone in his family liked having Sakura living with them, but perhaps it would so the usually uptight Interrogator some good to have the girl around.

Perhaps he found the perfect accommodation for her.

* * *

Sakura was absent again, and it was becoming late.

Minato was beginning to worry when a shaking Chunin knocked on his door.

He managed to stutter out that Morino Ibiki had sent him, then relayed the message, which was that Sakura had fallen asleep while waiting for him to sort through some papers, and that he had taken her home because she wouldn't let go, and he would return her tomorrow.

Minato chuckled.

He was sure a shinobi like Ibiki could easily pry a sleeping girl from him, but decided to not say anything. He merrily sent the Chunin away.

* * *

After that, it was common for Sakura to not come home at night. Minato though it was safe to say that half of Sakura's nights were spent over at Ibiki's place.

Naruto complained and grumbled about this, but in the end, agreed to 'let this Ibiki guy off the hook' because 'Sakura-chan liked him'.

One day, Minato called Ibiki to his office, then wordlessly handed Ibiki a stack of papers.

Ibiki did a good job of acting displeased but thanked Minato before leaving with the papers.

* * *

One day, while Sakura was sitting patiently for Ibiki to buy her the ice cream he had promised yesterday, a woman with a very strange chakra signature marched into the building. She felt more than one of the chakra signature din the building flinch and she looked up curiously.

Now that she was looking directly at the woman, she could see that the source of the strange signature was coming from her neck. She flinched away when it when it lashed out, almost as if it knew she was looking at it.

Sakura drew back a little, not user of what it was.

The woman must have noticed her gaze, for in the next second, she was right in front of her.

Sakura looked up at him curiously.

"Hey there." The woman grinned. She flicked the dango stick in her mouth from one side to another. "Are you Ibiki's little princess I hear so often about?"

Sakura's eyes brightened. "Are you Ibiki's friend?"

"You could say that." The woman's grin widened. "You can call me Anko-sama."

Sakura grinned right back. "Mkay, Anko-sama."

Anko laughed. She straightened and glanced around the room, not really looking at anyone in general. "I like her! If you don't come out, Ibiki, I'm going to steal away the princess."

"What do you need?"

Sakura whipped around. "Ibiki!"

Ibiki's stiff expression melted for a second and he nodded at her, before he turned back to Anko.

"Where'd you find princess here?" Anko demanded. "I want to adopt her."

"As if Hokage-sama will let a woman like you take care of a child." Ibiki said, then, as if he couldn't hold it back, added- "It's finders keepers."

Anko glared, and Ibiki glared right back.

Anko huffed. "Whatever." She turned towards the entrance. "I'll come back later. See ya, princess!"

Sakura waved. "Bye, Anko-sama!"

Ibiki groaned.

* * *

Time passed rather quickly. Sakura spent her time running around with Sasuke and Naruto, and visiting Ibiki whenever she could in between. The members of the T&I department was now used to Ibiki's occasional shadow, and they were very friendly with her.

Sakura had the general layout of Konoha hammered into her mind, and could make her way around the village without bumping into anything or getting lost, something Ibiki had actually smiled at.

Two months later, the Academy applications started for the children who wanted to start next term.

Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke had all announced that they were going to enter the Academy and after graduation, become a team.

Minato had hesitated at this.

Though Sakura's chakra vision gave her many advantages on field, it made other, mundane tasks more difficult compared to other people.

Still, she was as determined as the two boys to enter the Academy and Ibiki, as her legal guardian, had agreed to this, to no one's surprise.

In many ways, it would be much harder for Sakura, but Minato respected the girl's wishes.

And so, he decided that it would be better if her two closest friends were aware. He asked for Ibiki's permission, and the man gave it easily, mumbling something about how he had been thinking along the same lines, but didn't want to talk to any children.

Minato had just smiled.

A week after that, Minato sat Naruto and Sasuke on the living room couch, and after confirming that Sakura was out with Ibiki, told them was gently as he could about Sakura's situation, about her clan and her vision.

* * *

The two boys took very well to it.

Apart from the fact that they now treated Sakura like some sort of princess, nothing really changed.

They now demanded that they do almost everything for her.

They pushed her on swings at the park and read out everything there was on the menu at a restaurant.

They still had a hard time describing a piece of clothing, but they were getting better. Minato wondered how Sakura had convinced herself to buy ninja sandals with straps that 'looked like mashed strings of black ramen' and soles that 'felt like broken tips of shuriken were stuck together'.

Sakura just smiled and compelled to their wishes.

* * *

One day, Minato and his family were invited for dinner at the Uchiha household.

Mikoto also invited Sakura, eager to meet this girl both her best friend and her younger son talked often about.

Ibiki had agreed to let her go, as long as she was dropped off at his house by an adult. Minato had easily agreed to this.

Naruto led Sakura to the Uchiha compound by her hand. She didn't complain, even if she could make her way there by herself. She had done so several times to meet up with Sasuke, but the thought seemed to have vanished from Naruto's mind.

Sasuke greeted them at the entrance gates. He then gestured for Naruto and Sakura to follow him, then eagerly led them into the compound. Naruto had been here once or twice, but it was amazing no matter how many times he saw it, simply because it was huge. Sakura had never been inside, and concentrated on taking everything in.

She was surprisingly quiet as Sasuke led them towards his house.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked after a while.

Sasuke slowed his steps.

Sakura shook her head, still looking around. "Reminds me of my village." She then quickly shook her head when she felt something she had come to recognize as 'sadness' began to leak into the chakra signature of the two boys. "But I'm fine." She quickened her pace. "Come on! I'm hungry."

The mentioning of food seemed to knock Naruto out of his state and he quickened his pace. "Yeah! I bet aunt Mikoto has ramen!"

Sasuke sighed, and they quickened their pace to catch up with the blond.

"Oka-sama!" Sasuke burst through the door, having ran past Naruto at some point.

A beautiful woman with distinctive Uchiha traits appeared at the door, beaming. "Sasuke-chan!"

Sasuke huffed, a faint blush on his face.

Naruto snickered. "Hey, aunt Mikoto."

"Hello, Naruto." Mikoto smiled at the blond. "And you must be Sakura-chan." She smiled at the pinkette standing by the door.

Naruto dragged Sakura towards the woman by her wrist. "Yup!"

"Hello." Sakura smiled back.

Mikoto straightened. "Now, why don't you all come in and go to the living room? Itachi and Shisui are there, and you can introduce Sakura-chan to them, okay?"

Sasuke brightened at the mentioning of his brother and he nodded.

Sakura recognized this 'Itachi' person's chakra. He had been on the team with Ibiki.

She took off her shoes and placed them neatly on the floor before she allowed Sasuke to drag her into the house.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke burst through the door at the end.

Itachi looked up from the scroll he was reading, and Sakura watched the bubbles of happiness and something much more warmer seep into Itachi's chakra signature.

"Hello, otouto."

"No greeting for me?" The other teen in the room, who Sakura assumed was Shisui, asked.

Sasuke huffed. "Hi, Shisui." He muttered.

"Hi, Itachi-teme, Shisui." Naruto plopped himself on the couch.

Shisui collapsed next to Naruto with a dramatic sigh. "At least Naruto here appreciates me." He then turned in her direction. "And who might you be, pretty lady?"

Sakura blinked. She heard that word often, being used to describe flowers and clothes and stuff.

No idea what it meant, though.

"I'm Haruno Sakura." She said.

"Ah! Sasuke-chan's new friend!" Shisui vanished in a burst of chakra, appearing in front of her.

Sakura recognized this particular flare, as well as the chakra trail, and noted that he had body flickered.

"Yeah."

Shisui seemed a little disappointed that he hadn't manage to surprise her.

As long as one had chakra, it was close to impossible to surprise her.

Not that she was going to spoil that to anyone.

Instead, she huffed. Sasuke took this chance to snatch her out of Shisui's immediate vicinity. "Come on." He shot a pouting Shisui a suspicious look before he led her to the couch. "That's Itachi." He sounded by proud, the emotion leaking into his chakra signature. "He's the best."

"Best in what way?" Sakura asked curiously as she sat down next to Naruto. A second later, Sasuke sat to her left, sandwiching her between them.

Sasuke frowned. "The best...in the best way." His frown deepened. "He's very strong and smart and fast and..."

She turned back to stare at Itachi.

He had really little chakra, compared to other Shinobi she had seen. Then again, he was probably younger...She turned her green gaze to Naruto. His chakra, on the other hand, was unlimited. It was also very...red, and almost felt angry. It was hot too. She turned back to Itachi again.

She slowly trailed her gave up, meeting Itachi's onyx eyes.

"But Ibiki is better." Sakura interrupted. Sasuke opened his mouth to no doubt argue, but Sakura beat him to it. She flicked his nose and he jerked back in surprise. "He is."

"Naruto has more chakra than him." She said.

"But Naruto's an idiot." Sasuke replied automatically.

"What'dya say, bastard?" Naruto flew at Sasuke, knocking them both off the couch. Sakura tucked herself neatly into the couch to avoid the flailing limbs, and when the rolled away, stretched out on the couch.

Shisui sat on the armrest, a look of curiosity in his eyes. "You can sense chakra already?" He asked.

"I can see it." She told him.

Shisui turned to Itachi, who shrugged. "She's a Haruno."

Shisui's eyes brightened. "Oh! You're the girl Tachi here brought back!" He chuckled. "And Ibiki's follower." He leaned forward. "I've heard about you, pretty lady." He grinned.

Sakura crossed her arms. "Ibiki told me that if anyone tries something weird, I should kick them between the legs."

Shisui blinked.

"And Anko-sama said that the Uchiha were all about their Sharingan, and so if one was being mean to me, I should gauge their eyes out."

Shisui chuckled nervously. "Uh, Sakura-chan-"

"Ibiki also said that if someone tired to tell me otherwise, I should kill them and that he'll hide the bodies in one of the the unmarked cells deep underneath the Torture and Interrogation department that not one knows exists."

The corner of Itachi's mouth curled upward in a faint smile.

He decided that the girl was interesting to be around.

* * *

 **So, new chapter~**

 **We have a plan for another fanfic, and we'll probably post it once we have time to type it down...might be a while.**

 _ **Darque: So, I'm in History right now. I'm supposed to be researching about the Cultural Revolution in China.**_

 **Raven: You're always in History.**

 _ **Darque: :) That's because we use our laptops often, and my teacher's lazy so he just sits down and doesn't check on us.**_

 **Raven: Lucky. I had a surprise test today, and I just barely passed with 96%.**

 _ **Darque: Dude...pass mark is 60...As long as you get above 80, you're perfectly safe.**_

 **Raven: Well, barely passed my standards. 95 is normal for me.**

 _ **Darque:...I'm gone. (POOF)**_

 **Raven: Dar-Wai-...uh...what?**

 **Read and Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter FOUR**_

 **"WAKE UP!"**

Sakura shot up in her bed. She yawned as she rushed out of bed, just about managing to not topple onto the floor as she tried to struggle out of the blankets that had wrapped themselves around her. She toppled towards the door and yanked it open.

 **"YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE!"**

Sakura winced at the loud voice. She could see Ibiki standing at the foot of the stairs. She could tell that he wasn't angry or anything, though. Sakura nodded to signal that she had heard before she ran back into her room.

She threw on the clothes Sasuke's mother had insisted to pick up for her. She had decided to tag along on one of their shopping been horrified at the options Naruto and her son had brought up. Ever since, she had insisted on taking care of the girl's clothes shopping. She grabbed the pouch containing all the necessities of the first day, then hopped towards the door.

She stumbled down the stairs, coming to a halt in front of Ibiki, who smirked down at her. He placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair.

"Now, eat breakfast. I believe the Hokage's brat and the Uchiha brat have insisted to come pick you up." He paused. "This is your first day and I'm actually free today so I'll walk you."

Sakura's eyes brightened.

Truth be told, Ibiki didn't seem _that_ busy. He didn't leave that early in the morning, and Sakura often saw him off, and in the evenings, she would go to the T&I department and he would buy her ice cream on the way home. Once in a while, his work did go over time and Sakura ended up falling asleep in Ibiki's office. His chair was comfy, and it wasn't that hard, especially since someone, usually Kotetsu or Izumo, came to check on her, draping blankets over her and leaving snacks in case she was hungry when she woke up.

After Ibiki revealed to Sakura that Minato had given him adoption papers, Sakura had immediately announced that she was going to 'move in' with Ibiki. Ibiki had agreed after a bit, though it was obvious to anyone that he had declined at first only for show.

Sakura gobbled down her breakfast and stood up, about to bring her plates to the sink. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Ibiki glanced at Sakura, who was doing a pretty good job of trying to put her plate in the sink and run to the door, which was impressive, seeing as the two were on completely opposite ends of the house.

Deciding to help her out, he went for the door. Sakura took that chance to run to the sink. Of course, he was greeted by a grinning blond and a smirking Uchiha. Behind them stood the Hokage and his wife, then the Uchiha matriarch and the Uchiha prodigy, Itachi. He heard a crash and hoped that Sakura didn't break anything.

Then, the pinkette was by his side, grinning just as stupidly as the Naruto boy.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's grin widened. "You ready for school?"

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. How about you, Sasuke?"

"Of course." Sasuke flicked his head to one side with superiority one could only project with practice.

So, the Uchiha haughtiness had been passed on.

Ibiki inwardly sighed.

"Come on, Sakura-chan." Naruto took Sakura's hand and darted out the house. Sasuke, not to be outdone, grabbed Sakura's other hand.

Ibiki locked up his house then followed them with the rest of the adults.

If there was one thing the two boys were good at, it was treating Sakura like a princess. Though he would never admit it, he felt safe enough with Sakura in their care.

* * *

They sat through the talk given by the Hokage to the new students. Ibiki sat scowling in his chair, having forgotten how boring opening ceremonies were. Sakura spent that time scanning all the new students to keep them in her memory for future reference.

Soon after that, they were split into their classes and parents wished their children good luck for their first day. Ibiki ruffle Sakura's hair. "Remember what I taught you?" He asked.

Sakura nodded, and opened her mouth.

Ibiki quickly places a finger over her lips. "You don't have to say it out loud." He said, aware that there were a lot of people around them.

Sakura closed her mouth.

There were a few clan children there, and Ibiki remembered Genma saying that this year, there were a lot of noticeable clan heirs joining the academy.

"Stay with Naruto and Sasuke." Ibiki said. "Don't worry, your teacher, Umino Iruka, has been notified of your situation."

Sakura nodded.

"Have fun." Ibiki was feeling more and more out of character.

Sakura grinned.

"Come on, Sakura!" Sasuke called. Sakura waved at Ibiki one more time before she darted off. Naruto soon joined them.

When the three disappeared into the Academy building, Ibiki turned around, heading towards the T&I department.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke planted Sakura between them in their chosen row. Sakura noted the heirs of the Yamanaka clan, the Nara clan and the Akimichi clan hanging around each other.

Ibiki had told her about the traditional InoShikaCho combination.

Apart from that, the other noticeable people in their class were the Hyuuga clan heiress. There was also a Inuzuka boy with a dog stuffed into his jacket and a boy with a countless number of chakra signature coming from inside his jacket.

She pulled back just a little when she realized that they were bugs.

Their teacher, Umino Iruka joined them just a few seconds later. He smiled reassuringly at the students before he had all of the introduce themselves.

They spent the rest of the day going around the school. Iruka told them about the classes the first years will be attending, such as the most basic of chakra theories and kata. He then showed them all the facilities available in the school.

During lunch, Sasuke and Naruto immediately claimed the bench under a sakura tree. A few other people seemed to have their eyes on that spot, but none of them were stupid enough to oppose the Hokage's son and the second son of the Uchiha head.

Both Naruto and Sasuke knew this, and they took advantage of it without a hint of hesitation.

Sakura, as usual, just went along with them.

* * *

Sakura was smart, and that was the only reason she was able to keep up with her classmates, who had one huge advantage compared to her when it came from learning from a board.

Because she couldn't see, she couldn't take notes for later revision. And so, she had to listen to what the teacher was saying.

She had to listen and learn everything in one go.

Sometimes, Naruto and Sasuke would stick with her and go through what they thought would be hard for her.

They would complain when she got all the answers correct, and by the end of the day, the two would be teaming up to try and find a question which Sakura didn't know the answer to.

Once the practicals came up, Sakura knew she would be able to fill in the bits she didn't understand through theory. It would be easier for her too, because she would be able to see the exact movement of muscles and chakra and match her own body movements to match them.

* * *

Sakura spent her free time running around with Sasuke and Naruto. During the evening, she would drag them to the T&I department to 'pick up' Ibiki, and then force him to buy them ice cream.

Ibiki's coworkers would watched with badly hidden amusement as Ibiki folded like a deck of cards in front of Sakura.

Some people didn't even bother to try and hide their sadistic glee.

Sakura liked the days Anko stormed into the T&I department the best.

Anko would cackle evilly at Ibiki as Sakura clambered all over him, trying to tell him what she had done in the academy during the morning, before, and after lunch, all at once.

Sakura would then launch herself at Anko and demand that she tell her when kind of 'adventures' 'Anko-sama' had gone on this time.

The first time Ibiki found out exactly what kind of 'stories' Anko had been telling Sakura, he had paled to the point his subordinates worried that he would faint.

"And then the drunk tried to run! He look pathetic, really. he could barely walk straight and he was trying to outrun a bad-ass, awesome kunoichi like Anko-sama over here." Anko smirked down at Sakura's wide eyes, feeling Ibiki's horrified gaze boring into her back. "I caught him in a blink of an eye, and then the bastard pulled out a kunai. Of course, in front of me, it wouldn't have been any different from a tooth pick. And then I just pummeled the fuc-"

Ibiki swooped in, abruptly cutting off Anko's story.

"What the hell?" Anko asked angrily.

"Go corrupt someone else." Ibiki growled. He set Sakura down on the ground.

"But Ibiki~" Sakura whined. "I want to hear about what happened to the bastard that dared to stand up to Anko-sama."

Ibiki paled even more, and he could feel Anko smirking at him.

"If you forget everyone she said, I'll promise to let you eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole week."

Sakura's eyes brightened and she stuck her pinky out.

Ibiki sighed, before crouching and hooking his own around her's.

He would begin training her in the basics of Taijutsu the week after. That should make up for all the calories.

* * *

The first two years passed without an issue.

The students learned the history and geography of the Shinobi nations. They also covered the Shinobi rules and listened to talks from veteran ninja. They also went through a lot of theory in preparation for the practical part of their Ninjutsu classes. They were given the short holiday between the last term of the year and first term of the next to learn all the hand signs.

Something Sakura had no problem with, much to her best friends' annoyance.

However, they had come to accept it.

Sakura was just better than them, or so she claimed.

Like every day for the past two years, Naruto and Sasuke came to pick her up in the morning of their first day as third years.

"How've you been, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"We saw her yesterday, Dobe." Sasuke muttered.

"What'd you say-"

Sakura wagged her fingers in front of their faces. "Guys." She then turned to the third person standing outside the house.

Today, it seemed their adult accompaniment would be Itachi, who had just come back from a mission.

"Hello, Itachi-san!" Sakura waved at the older Uchiha, who nodded politely in greeting.

"Ibiki! I'm gonna go now!" She called into the house.

Ibiki appeared at the door, already dressed in his Shinobi attire. "Be careful."

Sakura nodded, and she followed the three males out onto the streets.

"We're finally moving onto fighting!" Naruto exclaimed, leaning back with his arms crossed behind his back. "I can't wait!"

"Neither can I!" Sakura chirped.

"It's the practical stuff, not just fighting." Sasuke said at the same time.

Sakura hummed. "Still. I'll beat up everyone, so you just watch."

"Hey! I'm gonna be strongest!" Naruto interrupted.

"Hn. You wish." Sasuke huffed,

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

Itachi followed closely being, feeling childishly ignored.

He caught Sakura looking back at him from the corner of her eye and he inwardly winced.

It was hard to remember that this innocent looking girl could see through even the most well concealed feelings and emotions.

His mask of indifference didn't matter, for she could see his face. Instead, she looked right into his soul.

Sakura blinked, then smiled back at him. "Itachi-san? What's the Genin graduation test like?" She asked. Immediately, Naruto and Sasuke turned to him eagerly.

Itachi allowed a small smile to grace his lips.

Yes, she was very interesting indeed.

* * *

 **So, here's chapter five~**

 _ **Darque: I have some English analysis thing I've got to finish by Sunday...WHICH IS TODAY!**_

 **Raven: You always talk about what you're supposed to be going, or what you're doing, or something...**

 _ **Darque: Well, I think it'll be good to keep people updated on these kinds of things.**_

 **Raven:...**

 _ **Darque: And, besides, I'm trying to list out what I'm supposed to do and stuff.**_

 **Raven:...Okay...Good luck, okay? If I remember, you failed your draft thing, right? 14/25?**

 _ **Darque: Meh.**_

 **Read and Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter FIVE**_

By the first month into the Academy, Sakura had literally left a trail of chakra going _everywhere_. By her third year, she could make her way around the school without trouble.

Naruto and Sasuke had made it their self assigned mission to follow her everywhere, and that hadn't changed at all.

In turn, Sakura had made it her mission to see if she could sneak away without being caught.

In the past two years, she had succeeded twice.

The two boys, it seemed, had chakra vision when it came to her.

They would grab her wrist when the thought even crossed her mind, without even looking around.

They had planted her in her usual spot between the two of them the moment they had stepped into the classroom. Greetings were cast between students, and Sakura could see that everyone seemed to be more enthusiastic today.

The door opened again after a while, and Iruka stepped through. He welcomed the students back into their third year. Then, like every year, he gave them an introduction of what they were hoping to cover this term.

Cheers of excitement broke out when Iruka listed the physical lesson that were now open to them.

Seems like they weren't the only ones excited.

* * *

In their first ever Taijutsu class, Iruka went through the katas they had learned in their previous years.

He told them of the two seals, the Seal of Confrontation and the Seal of Reconciliation.

Finally, two weeks into the Academic year, they held the spars.

Iruka paired the students up with people he thought would be a good match.

Naruto and Sasuke were paired together, while Sakura and Ino were put together.

Ino glanced at Sakura with a frowned.

In class, Sakura didn't socialize with anyone apart from Sasuke and Naruto, which earned her a lot of enemies. Ino happened to be one of them, drawn to the two boys for their social position and their looks, jealous of Sakura simply due to the attention they showered her with.

Sakura could see the anger in her chakra and flinched back just a little.

Chakra full of emotion felt like it burned her eyes.

Sasuke and Naruto knew of this very well, and they shot her worried looks.

Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused on something else. It wasn't hard, for the whole entire room was full of excited chakra signatures.

The pairs went one at a time, so that Iruka could keep an eye on all of them in case something went wrong.

Things went smoothly at the beginning. Shikamaru gave up immediately. Shino's opponent did the same, well aware of the bugs hiding under the Aburame's clothes. Choji beat his opponent.

Naruto and Sasuke beat the crap out of each other.

As always.

The girls cheered for both of them.

As always.

In the end, Iruka had to pull them apart.

The two had been fighting all morning because Naruto had pranked him last night, and their parents had dragged them home before Sasuke could get revenge.

Uchiha Sasuke was the type of hold a grudge.

The two refused to do the Seal of Reconciliation, and in the end, Iruka gave up and sent them back to sit down.

However, Sakura didn't mind, because when she glanced at them in worry, they noticed and they linked their fingers in the Seal of Reconciliation in the shadows, so that only she could see.

She smiled at them.

A few pairs later, Sakura and Ino were called out. Sakura scrambled to her feet and made her way into the sparring circle. Ino took her place opposite her.

Ibiki had filled her in on the different clans that resided in Konoha.

The Yamanaka clan were known for their Mind Transfer technique, and they used this technique in collaboration with the Nara clan's Shadow possession technique and the Akimichi clan's body expansion techniques.

In the well known Ino-Shika-Cho combination, they were probably the 'mind'.

Ibiki hand't mentioned anything on their physical strength, so they probably didn't have anything that would give her an advantage in a one on one Taijutsu spar.

The two girls formed the Seal of Confrontation when Iruka called out, and the spar began.

Ino immediately came at her, and Sakura realized that though the Yamanaka weren't exactly known for their physical strength, they were a clan, and no doubt they would have taught its members to fight from a young age.

Well, she came from a clan too.

And she had Ibiki.

Sakura dodged the first blow, using the momentum to fall back from the second. She fell to the floor and kicked out, knocking Ino off her feet. Ino lashed out at her even as she fell and Sakura jumped back.

Unlike normal people, she had no problem with turning her back to the enemy, for her Chakra vision gave her a clear view on her surroundings. No one could sneak up on her.

This allowed her to dodge the kick that came from behind. Sakura remembered Ibiki's words, and grabbed Ino's leg before it could pull back. She used the momentum of her opponent's attack and whipped around. She gave a hard tug, throwing Ino off balance.

She then charged into the Yamanaka, who wasn't able to hold up their combined weight. Sakura expertly spun the other girl around and they landed with Sakura on top with Ino stomach down, the force knocking the air out of the blonde.

Sakura jumped onto her knees before she could recover. She grabbed Ino's wrists and twisted them behind her back, earning herself a gasp of pain. Sakura leaned back on her legs and applied a little more pressure.

"Give?" She asked.

Ino grunted, but went slack in her grasp.

However, Sakura could see Ino's chakra signature glowed with defiance, and she could see the tense way her chakra moved within her body.

Ino was waiting for her to loosen her grasp.

Sakura tightened her grip and pulled back a little more. She saw pain and panic begin to leak into her opponent's chakra signature.

Ino let out a small whimper.

"Give?" Sakura repeated, knowing that she was hurting the girl.

Ino nodded, and Sakura immediately jumped off her. Ino struggled to her feet after she had taken a few breaths. Sakura held up her Seal of Reconciliation and Ino begrudgingly did the same.

* * *

Sakura marched into the T&I office after school that day, flanked by Sasuke and Naruto, as usual. Itachi followed, having been sent to pick up his brother. He had been away on a mission for a while, and unless there was an emergency, he had a three day holiday before he was put back on the mission roster.

Sakura could see Ibiki and Inoichi talking by the front desk and grinned.

How fortunate.

She quickened her pace, forcing the two boys, who was always reluctant of visiting the T&I office, to quicken their pace of risk looking her. Itachi just followed, calmly as ever.

"Ibiki!"

Sakura jumped onto the man, who caught her without even looking at her. She grinned down at the two boys from her position on the man's shoulders.

She was the only one who was allowed to climb all over big-bad Ibiki!

Inoichi smiled at her. "Hello, Sakura-chan."

Sakura grinned at the man. "Hi, Inoichi-san." She paused. "I beat Ino in a spar today." She added.

Sakura saw a challenging glow enter Ibiki's chakra signature. Hr reached up and ruffled her hair and Sakura preened at the contact.

Inoichi must have noticed something, for he returned the challenging look. "Oh?"

Sakura nodded.

Inoichi chuckled. "You must be pretty good, then."

Sakura grinned. "Ibiki taught me."

"Sakura-chan's very strong." Naruto said at the same time.

Sasuke grunted in agreement. "Hi Morino-san, Yamanaka-san." He added, channeling his Inner Itachi.

"Hello, boys." Inoichi smiled. "Hello, Itachi."

Itachi nodded respectfully. "Hello Yamanaka-san, Morino-san."

"Ice cream, Ibiki!" Sakura said. She leaned into Ibiki's face. "Ice cream." She repeated.

Naruto's eyes widened happily and Sasuke paused, looking up at the scarred man.

He may not like sweets, but Matcha wasn't too bad.

Ibiki sighed. "Yes yes." He agreed. "Let me just finish things off in the office, okay?"

"Mkay." Sakura nodded.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke shot each other confused looks as Sakura sat herself down on a nearby bench and Ibiki crouched opposite her. Itachi watched on curiously.

"Rule eight?" Ibiki asked.

"A shinobi must prepare before it is too late." Sakura recited.

Ibiki threw her a coin. Sakura caught it and grasped it. Itachi's eyes cleared, knowing where this was going.

"Rule twenty five?"

"A shinobi must never show their tears."

Ibiki tossed Sakura a coin.

"Rule sixteen?"

"A shinobi must follow their commander's instructions."

He tossed her another one.

"Rule four?"

"A shinobi must always put the mission first."

Ibiki hummed, then threw her the last coin. Sakura got to her feet from where she had been sitting on a bench and counted the coins.

"Thanks, Ibiki!" She turned to the two boys. "Come on!"

Itachi stepped up to Ibiki as the man stood up.

"That is...a very interesting method." He said.

Ibiki shrugged. "It works."

* * *

The rest of the year passed peacefully.

Sakura took full advantage of her chakra vision in physical Taijutsu lessons and continued soaking up the theory at a speed that both confused and annoyed Naruto and Sasuke.

It was a year before Sakura herself took the graduation exam, when she bumped into him.

She had seen his chakra signature in the Academy a few times, mingling with the others, all a year above her, so he must have just graduated.

He had a slightly different chakra passage to those around him. His eyes were surrounded by chakra vines, but Sakura could see that whatever it was for, it wasn't in use at the moment.

Even from a distance, she had felt the confidence and the strong belief of oneself lacing around his chakra.

And she could also see the well concealed fear too.

Seeing it up close for the first time, she had been so...fascinated by this particular chakra signature. It was so complicated, so complex, and so... _fragile_...that she hadn't noticed that she had walked right up to him.

The sudden collision and the annoyed grunt that followed jolted her out of her trance, and by then, it was too late.

She fell backwards, just as Sasuke and Naruto appeared around the corner.

They took one look at her on the ground, then at the boy standing in front of her, and came to a conclusion.

A wrong conclusion, but a conclusion all the same.

"Hey! What'd you think you're doing to Sakura-chan?" Naruto barked.

The boy in front of her clicked his tongue in annoyance. " _She_ ran into _me_."

Sakura could see Sasuke's chakra signature darken, the way it did before he unleashed his well known glare on someone.

Sakura scrambled to her feet and shook out her clothes. "It's true. I ran into him."

Sasuke eyed her skeptically. "Uh...Sakura? You have never run into anyone."

"Yeah, Sakura-chan! Cause you can see everything." Naruto added his own two cents.

Sakura huffed, realizing that the two boys were making this more complicated than it had to be.

"It's true, though." She drew back a little from the boy in front of him. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't looking at where I was going."

The boy scoffed. "You're the Haruno, right?"

Sakura nodded slowly.

"They you shouldn't have to _look_ ahead of you in order to see."

Sakura frowned, wondering how she was supposed to say _'I was so entranced by your chakra signature that I lost sight of my surroundings'_ without sounding like an idiot.

"I'm sorry." She repeated.

The boy sighed, whipped around, and stalked down the street.

"Who's _he_?" Naruto asked.

"A Hyuuga." Sasuke said. "Did you see the eyes?"

"Oh! Those guys who have this power thing that lets them see like you right? Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke huffed. "I'm surprised you actually remember that."

"What did you say?" Naruto demanded.

Sakura tuned out the argument as she stared after the boy, long after normal eyes would have lost sight of him in the crowd.

They were alike, in a way.

Just that he could see through into two different worlds, while she didn't have a choice.

However, his chakra signature was almost contaminated with the hatred he held within himself.

It was obvious he was choosing to look through only one.

Sakura felt a little angry.

He had the power, the _gift_ to see into two different worlds. He could choose to see like her, and he could choose to see _normally_.

It was a choice she hadn't been offered.

However, she did have the gift to see in a way most people couldn't, and having lived like this until now, she had learned to look at things from more than one angle.

And so, she knew.

 _A gift can be a curse, just like a curse can be a gift._

* * *

 **Was rushed a little...**

 **Here's the next chapter~**

 **Can anyone guess who this 'Hyuuga' was? Probably...**

 _ **Darque: I passed my music exam~**_

 **Raven: Oh? Really? Cool.**

 _ **Darque: I massed my music exam~**_

 **Raven: Yes yes. I know.**

 _ **Darque; I passed my music exam~**_

 **Raven: Uh...Darque? We know.**

 _ **Darque: I passed my music exam~**_

 **Raven: Darque! I kno-**

 _ **Darque: I passed my music exam~**_

 **Raven: Sorry, reader people. Darque was very worried about it, and I think she's broken.**

 _ **Darque: I passed my music exam~**_

 **Raven: I'll have her fixed by the next update.**

 **Read and Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter SIX_**

A year after Sakura's meeting with the prissy Hyuuga, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke successfully passed the Genin exams.

On the morning of the team assignments, the three of them made their way to the classroom, worried and excited at the same time.

Once everyone had arrived, Iruka launched into a long talk about responsibility and whatnot.

Naruto and Sasuke began to quietly bicker, hiding behind Sakura's back to make sure Iruka didn't catch them.

None of them paid attention, until Naruto's name was called up.

"Namikaze Naruto!"

The blond instantly pulled away from the glaring match he had going on with Sasuke.

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked up too. He shot Naruto a half annoyed, half glad look, before the two of them turned to look at Sakura.

"And Haruno Sakura!"

The three of them shared a threeway highfive, ignoring the grumbles and complains going on in the background.

They were going to be awesome-

"You will be Team Seven under your Jounin instructor, Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura blinked. That was a name she had heard before...

Naruto and Sasuke, who had heard of Hatake Kakashi, their Jounin instructor, instantly filled Sakura in on the rumors they had heard from Minato, who had been the man's teacher, and Itachi, who had been under him in his ANBU team.

Sakura also noted that she knew of him, for she remembered that he had been on the team that had been escorting Ibiki, all those years ago..

After a few minutes of analysis, they came to a conclusion.

Famous or not, this dude was not worth their time.

* * *

"IBIKI!"

Ibiki didn't even bother dodging the hug that came his way, and allowed the pinkette that had somehow wriggle herself into his heart to give him a bear hug.

"Sakura." He tugged her off by her collar and placed her on the ground.

His subordinates smiled warmly at Sakura, who was now a common presence in the T&I department.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Ibiki paused, remembering something. "No, you are supposed to be meeting your new team." He had a bad feeling, as if he knew what was coming.

"Well, you see Ibiki, we got a sucky teacher, so we ditched him to come and see you. You're much better!"

Ibiki sighed, knowing who this 'sucky teacher' was. "He is one of the most powerful and well known shinobi in Konoha."

Sakura huffed. "No one cares. You're the best."

Suddenly, there was a scream of fear, followed by a loud 'CRASH'.

Ibiki tensed immediately, the possibility of it being an enemy assault briefly crossing his mind. Both Sasuke and Naruto jumped, but Sakura just cheered. "It's Anko-sama!"

Ibiki tensed even more. He didn't know which was better. In fact, he decided that he would have preferred it if it were a platoon of enemy ninja. At least then, no one would say anything if he maimed them.

A few more screams followed, before Anko kicked the door of Ibiki's office off its hinge. The door flew to the other side of the room, leaving a dent in the wall.

"You're paying for that." Ibiki stated.

Anko sighed dramatically. "And here I was, thinking that I'll teach the princess some of my awesome techniques."

Sakura immediately turned to dart towards Anko, only to be stopped by Ibiki once again grabbing Sakura by the collar. Sakura paused, glancing up curiously at Ibiki. "Don't go with deranged woman."

Suddenly, "Sakura." Sasuke called. "Nii-san is coming home today, and he promised to teach us some more stuff."

There was a pause.

Sakura was out of Ibiki's grip like a flash, grinning up at Sasuke like a happy puppy.

"I'll be going with Sasuke and Naruto, Ibiki!" Sakura called. "I'll be back."

Sasuke smirked triumphantly at the two shinobi staring at them in unconcealed shock. "My nii-san will drop her later." He then tugged Sakura and Naruto out of the room.

"Woah." Anko smirked. "She ditched you!"

Ibiki, on the other hand, was frozen stiff, his hands twitching occasionally towards a hidden weapon as he watched Sakura follow her best friends out towards the main street through the window.

* * *

Sakura warned the two boys of Itachi's approaching presence long before either of them noticed.

"Shisui is here too." Sakura added.

"You're like an Itachi alarm!" Naruto said. "He can't sneak up on us any more."

Sasuke nodded slowly. "Even I agree that giving us a heart attack then telling us that 'Shinobi must always be aware of their surroundings' is a little over the top." He scowled. "It's not fair, because we can't sense him even if we were pulling all our concentration towards finding him."

Sakura just giggled and leaned back on the trunk of the tree.

A few seconds later, Itachi and Shisui appeared in front of them.

Itachi glanced between the three of them, and after noting that they didn't seem surprised, he looked torn between praising them and frowning at Sakura for ruining the purpose of this whole exercise. (Cause he was Uchiha Itachi, and he was never going to admit that scaring Sasuke and Naruto was something he did to amuse himself.)

"Hi Nii-san!" Sasuke jumped to his feet. He shot Shisui a good imitation of Itachi's irritated glare. "Shisui."

Shisui placed a hand on his chest. "I'm hurt, Sasuke-chan."

Before Sasuke could complain, Shisui turned to Sakura. "At least someone appreciates me."

Sakura bounded up to him. "Hi Shisui!"

"Come on, Sakura-chan. I'll teach you my trademark technique..." Shisui grinned. "Tachi, I'll be borrowing her, kay?"

Itachi frowned a little, but slowly nodded. "You will be in charge of bringing her home afterwards."

Shisui waved to show that he had heard, before he body flickered away to the other end of the Uchiha training grounds they were currently occupying.

"Itachi-teme! You let Shisui take Sakura-chan! How could you?" Naruto demanded.

Itachi frowned at the blond. "From what I know, you were supposed to be meeting your Jounin teacher today."

Sasuke nodded slowly.

"And since you aren't with him, my best guess is that you ditched him."

He received another nod.

"If that is the case, it is most likely that you would go and hide from him, and of course, Sakura would have taken you two to Morino Ibiki."

Another nod.

"But since you aren't at his place, it is most probable that you dragged her out of the office in one way or another." He paused. "In fact, this is something I will praise you for, for our head interrogator seems quite attached to her." He was so enjoying himself. "The only reason he didn't do anything is that Sakura was there, and during our training sessions, it is always me who brings her home."

Sasuke's eyes widened a little, having realized where Itachi was going with this. "You're using Shisui as a scapegoat."

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"At this current moment in time, I am not willing to go against the wrath of Morino Ibiki." Itachi concluded. "Shisui is always bragging about this skill. I decided that it would be good time for him to test his skills out, and who better to do it against that an angry interrogator?"

Sasuke decided that Itachi was a prodigy in more than one way.

* * *

Just before they left for the night, they were introduced to Uchiha Obito.

"Obito here was Kakashi's teammate." Shisui told them. "I'm sure he'd be willing to tell you secret info on him or something."

Obito chuckled. He ruffled Sasuke's hair, and Shisui pouted when Sasuke didn't try and pull away.  
"Hello, Obito-san." Sakura smiled.

"Hello, Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun." Obito smiled. "I heard you ditched Kakashi."

"Yup! We so did." Naruto announced. "Cause he's not cool enough for us, 'ttebayo!"

Obito laughed. "I'm not sure about 'cool' but he sure is a sourpuss."

The Genin of maybetobe Team Seven shared a look.

On the other hand, Obito seemed to deserve their presence.

* * *

Truthfully, Hatake Kakashi didn't know what he was expecting.

He knew all three of his possible students. Considering who they were, he was pretty sure they would be able to pass in the 'skill' aspect, and they were already good friends, and that covered 'teamwork'.

However, when he noticed that they left the classroom the moment the class had been dismissed, he didn't really know what to think.

He had to admit, he was slightly impressed when they marched into the T&I department, and Ibiki actually let them stay.

Even he had heard the rumors about Morino Ibiki and his pink haired shadow.

Kakashi had been wondering whether or not to pop in, when someone troublesome entered the scene.

Kakashi was not in the mood to entertain Mitarashi Anko.

As so, he simply dropped by the Hokage's office, then went on his merry way.

* * *

Lame or not, they had to go meet their Jounin instructor one way or another.

And so, the next day, the three of them begrudgingly gathered at Training ground Three after the scolding they received from Minato.

Thanks to Obito, they now knew for certain that Kakashi would be hours late, and they arrived a hour or two later than the assigned time.

Hatake Kakashi was yet to appear.

"So even if we did wait for him, he would have been late." Sakura grumbled.

"Hn." Sasuke sighed.

"This guy is so not worth it." Naruto said.

Sakura sighed. "Why can't we have a cooler teacher?" She asked. "Like Ibiki."

Sasuke frowned, a little put off. "Nii-san would be a good teacher."

Sakura's face scrunched up as she thought. "Well, we're awesome, and an awesome team can have two teachers, right?"

* * *

An hour after they had arrived at the training grounds, Kakashi appeared in front of them.

The moment the smoke had cleared enough for them to see their possible Jounin instructor, all three of them fixed the man with their most annoyed glares.

It was pretty effective too, considering who they had picked it up from.

However, Kakashi didn't react. He just smiled, then spread his arms dramatically. "Hello, possible minions."

They glared harder, unimpressed.

Kakashi sighed. "Anyways, you will be taking part in the survival exercise you were supposed to do yesterday." His eyes crinkled. "Depending on the results, you may be sent back to the Academy."

Naruto frowned. "You can't do that. Sasuke's dad'll throw a fit."

Kakashi internally winced at this, but he kept up his facade. "Well, that's the rules. But before we move on, we'll introduce ourselves. You first, Naruto."

"We all know each other." Sakura cut in. "You should go first. You're the only one we don't know." She shrugged. "Technically, anyways."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, I'm Hatake Kakashi. I don't plan on telling you my liked or disliked. As for dreams...I have a few hobbies."

Sasuke turned away dismissively. "Sakura."

Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled out a small note pad. She passed it to Naruto, who grinned and flipped it open."Ready."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Likes?" Sasuke asked.

"Eggplants!" Sakura said. "I remember."

"Dislikes?"

"Says anything fried or sweet." Naruto made a face. "That's like, half the things in the world of food."

"Dreams?"

"Well, he wants to fight tou-chan." Naruto said.

"Hobbies"

"His hobby is reading something called 'Icha Icha-"

"Hang on. How do you..." Kakashi trailed off.

Naruto held up the notepad. "Obito gave it to us-"

Kakashi snatched the note book out of the blond's hand and flipped through it as fast as he could.

He then ran his chakra to his hand and fried it. He watched the burnt paper fall to the ground with glee.

Obito knew a lot of things about him that he was uncomfortable with, and it looked like his friend had written nearly everything he knew about him on it.

"Too bad that's not the only one~" Sakura pulled out another. "We have loads. Obito and Shisui used their Sharingans to copy them onto at least a dozen different notepads."

Kakashi made a mental note to kill Obito.

Sadly, what he didn't know what that his hell wasn't over yet.

* * *

 **So, here's chapter six!  
**

 **Also, we have a new fic up, so please check it out!**

 **Red Strings of Fate:**

 **Kill the Kazekage and leave Suna. That was his plan, until he runs into a girl at the scene, looking curiously at the body of her father. Her exotic pink hair and gem like green eyes. She was perfect. Her inherited Magnet Release and the Ichibi Jinchuriki that tagged along was just a bonus. Little did he know that the extra package would be the best thing that ever happened to him.**

* * *

 **Raven: So, I just recently noticed than in most fanfics, Sakura is portrayed as the oldest member of team seven. I thought she was the youngest. I mean, she's march, right?**

 _ **Darque: Wow! You actually noticed! I'm so proud of you!**_

 **Raven:...**

 ** _Darque: Anyways, I think it's cause in not-Japan places, school terms tend to start in August and stuff._**

 **Raven: Uh...yeah?**

 _ **Darque:...Okay...But the school term in Japan starts in April?**_

 **Raven:...uh...What?**

 _ **Darque: And Sakura is younger than both Sasuke and Naruto, because their birthdays come before Sakura's. Also, if she was born in March before the two boys, she would be a year above them, cause those born in April to March are in one year...um...so those that are born in March (like us) are the youngest in the year (Like you).**_

 **Raven: I knew that.**

 _ **Darque: Right...anyways...however, in other places, school terms begin after summer, so August? and and looking at it that way, Sakrua's birthday (March), comes before Sasuke and Naruto's.**_

 **Raven: I...see...**

 _ **Darque: :)**_

 **Read and Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**New story thing at the bottom...Also, does anyone remember what day it is today...?**

 _ **Chapter SEVEN**_

Hatake Kakashi was a very skilled, well known shinobi.

While he expected the three eagerly waiting for the test to start to be better than the other brats, he wasn't exactly expecting much in the skill section.

Compared to him anyway.

After explaining the rules, he set the timer and placed it on the tree stump. "You have until noon to take these bells from me." He said. "Your time...starts...NOW!"

Instantly Sakura grabbed her teammates by their hands and shunshined out of the clearing, leaving a shocked Kakashi behind.

* * *

"At least Shisui-Teme is useful for something." Naruto muttered. He stumbled to his feet, feeling slightly woozy.

"Hn." Sasuke, who had managed to land on his feet, straightened himself.

"Now what?" Sakura asked.

"We need to get those bells, right?" Naruto asked.

"Our opponent is a Jounin." Sasuke said. "We have to be careful."

"His rank is probably not just a title." Sasuke said. "He was on Nii-san's team. He's got to be skilled."

"So how do we do this?"

"I'm sure there's a reason behind the two bells thing." Sakura said. "And not even he has the authority to deny advancement to a team of skilled Genin."

"That's true." Sasuke agreed. "Well, let's see how much we can hold out against him first."

* * *

Naruto shot out of the trees first. He summoned a handful of shadow clones as he went, and sent them all to attack Kakashi.

After getting over his initial shock of seeing a young boy summon more than half a dozen clones, the Jounin easily engaged them, making them vanish one by one. At one point, Kakashi got a hold of the real Naruto, but the boy summoned more clones, using them to camouflage and slip away back into the sea of his copies.

Kakashi had heard that the boy spent a lot of his time playing pranks and running form Jounin and ANBU alike. Perhaps that was playing a part in this whole thing.

Just then, Sasuke streaked out from behind him, gripping a coil of wire. Kakashi noted that the other end was attached to one of Naruto clones and had to admit that it was a good idea. Sasuke flashed through a series of hand sighs, once again leaving Kakashi surprised.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" The Uchiha blew out a fireball that trailed up along the coil of wire. Kakashi tossed a handful of shuriken at the clone the wire was attached to them jumped away. Shuriken flew out of the flames, having been previously concealed by the flames. Kakashi pulled out a kunai with practiced ease and knocked them aside.

To say the Jounin wasn't impressed, would be a lie.

Kakashi landed in a clearing a little away and noted that the three had followed him.

Sakura appeared from behind the cover of the trees, hands flashing through a set of hand signs more out of habit than the necessity. Her chakra vision allowed her to see chakra, and by looking at the amount of chakra required to perform a technique, she could use her superior chakra control to adjust it without the aid of hand signs.

In most occasions, anyways.

To his confusion, Kakashi realized he didn't recognize the hand sign combination of the technique Sakura was about to perform.

How could a mere girl barely a Genin know a technique not even he knew of?

"Kuchiyose: Aian Meiden!"

He felt a pulse of chakra underneath him and paused, wondering what kind of trick this was. That one second cost him, for a split second later, something shot out of the ground in front and behind him and clamped down.

* * *

"That was amazing Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "What was that? Where did you learn it?"

"That was a kuchiyose no jutsu." Sakura explained. "Actually, the real thing is much bigger. I just adjusted the size to adapt to the situation." Sakura beamed. "Ibiki taught me!"

Sasuke jumped down and carefully inspected the ground where the maneki neko had been dragged by the chains and vanished. "And where is Kakashi now?"

"Ibiki has him." Sakura said. "Deep down underground." She sang.

"Underground?"

"In the deepest, darkest cell of the T&I building." She said. "Don't worry, we'll get the bells. I told Ibiki to confiscate anything suspicious."

"Is that allowed?" Naruto asked slowly.

Sakura shrugged. "He didn't say anything about not being allowed to do something." She said.

Sasuke nodded. "We're shinobi." He said. "We should use any means possible to win." He said. "Nii-san said so."

* * *

When Kakashi finally came to, he was chained down in a cell he faintly recognized.

What was he doing in the T&I building?

Just then, a shadow was cast over him and he looked up into the amused face of Morino Ibiki. "I didn't think she would actually be able to catch you."

Kakashi was torn between impressed and annoyed.

"So that _was_ your technique." Kakashi sighed and waves his chained wrist. Ibiki snapped his fingers and the cuffs fell off.

Kakashi stood up lazily and stiffened. He reached down and noticed that, yes, the bells were gone.

"Your students are waiting in the lobby." Ibiki said. "Anko is here too. You might not want to be late."

Kakashi wisely did as told.

* * *

Kakashi walked into the lobby to see a horrifying scene.

Sakura and Anko.

Hugging.

Kakashi blinked.

Sakura and Anko were hugging.

Kakashi blinked again, just to make sure.

They were still hugging. The older of the two crazies held the younger under her arms, spinning around and cackling in glee as Sakura enthusiastically told her something. Kakashi could hear the words that sang his defeat being passed on to the worst person it could have been passed on to.

He glanced helplessly over to the two boys. Sasuke and Naruto looked dizzy on Sakura behalf.

 _Ah...Friendship..._

Kakashi shook his head.

And as if the two crazies had just noticed him, they both turned in his direction, eyes full of disturbing glee.

They smiled.

* * *

Their punishment came in the form of D ranks.

Kakashi gleefully watched the Genin of Team Seven run around, shooting glares at him between the different kinds of jobs he forced onto them. While the mission of every Shinobi's childhood, the 'Finding Tora' mission didn't seem to have the desired effects due to Sakura's vision, Kakashi buried them with the most boring mission he could find.

Then again, there were several mission he could not take, for Sakura wouldn't be able to do them. Kakashi learnt that the hard way after he had gotten them a 'paint the fence' mission.

It was unnerving to be reminded of the fact that while Sakura could move around like any normal person, she wasn't actually seeing things the way everyone else did. Ever since, Kakashi had limited them to running errands, babysitting, and of course, their specialty, finding Tora. Things that didn't require normal sight to complete.

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto wondered if they could get away with murder. Still, they completed their missions like any good Genin did.

They entertained Kakashi through the day, and once they were dismissed, Sakura led her friends to the T&I office, where she drowned Ibiki in her complaints of the day. Ibiki would pretend to not listen, then give her money for some sort of snack before kicking them out. They would buy something to eat, then this time follow Sasuke to the Uchiha compound where they complained some more to Obito, who was very sympathetic. Sometimes Mikoto invited them to stay for dinner but most of the times, it wasn't that late and a Chunin who Ibiki had scared into the job would come pick up Sakura.

Then the next day, the sames things would repeat.

The better days for Team Seven was when Anko was present in the T&I building. The woman would fill their minds with nasty ways of getting revenge, and while most of the tales sounded impossible it was entertaining to listen to Anko verbally murder Kakashi.

One day, however, Naruto snapped.

Even while Sasuke and Sakura scolded him, they mentally egged him on.

That was how Team Seven earned themselves and another Genin team a collaborated C-rank.

* * *

Ibiki was not very pleased when he found out about the C-rank Team Seven would be going on, and he made sure to let everyone around him know of his displeasure too. He took a day off from work and locked Sakura into the house, where he drilled the most monstrous methods of interrogation into the pinkette. Sakura absorbed the information like a sponge.

The fact that a second Genin team would be accompanying them didn't do much to his worry, since they were like...uh...hello? Genin.

He would have gone on this mission himself, but he was pretty sure the Hokage wouldn't allow him. Experience was necessary for Genin to learn, after all.

Also, he would never outwardly admit that he was worried. He was Morino Ibiki; he had a reputation to uphold.

At least the two Jounin that would be leading the team were Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai. While they were both unique in their own way, they were reliable.

Still, he made it a point to sharpen Sakura's weapons himself. He then stocked her up with a few vile of poison he had gotten off a few Suna nukenin.

* * *

Ibiki also dropped Sakura off at the gates on the morning of her departure. While they weren't late, they weren't early either. When they arrived, everyone else was already there, but any protest anyone might have had at the idea of being late died down when Ibiki looked over them, leaking Killing Intent.

Sasuke and Naruto did the smart thing. They dragged Sakura from his side and placed her pointedly between themselves and Ibiki.

The head Interrogator inwardly smirked.

"You're late, Sakura-chan." Kakashi said with a smile.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah!" He exclaimed. "Later that Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura simply grinned. "I'm sorry." She said. "We had to stop Anko-sama from trying to kill someone with a scroll." She said.

They received shocked and confused stares from everyone, but it wasn't a lie so Ibiki simply shrugged.

"You must be the Sakura-chan Naruto-kun talked about!"

Ibiki frowned when the Gai copy popped up in front of Sakura, who appeared to be taken back.

"You are truly as beautiful as your youthful teammate claimed! Please go out with me."

Before Ibiki could try out his most favorite method of torture on him, Naruto and Sasuke yanked Sakura backwards. "Back off, Bushy brows!" Naruto said.

"Hn." Sasuke had his eyes narrowed. "She's way too good for you."

There was no way Ibiki was going to jump in on this, but he contributed with his 'Interrogator glare'. The boy backed away instantly and Ibiki was hit with another bout of worry.

Not only was Sakura supposed to keep an eye out for enemy nin, but she had to avoid Bushy Brows too? He glanced towards Sasuke and Naruto, then decided that they would probably be good enough to keep him away.

Sakura, having gotten over her shock, began chattering away to her teammates and Ibiki took the chance to inspect the second Genin team and the client of the mission. He fixed Kakashi with a warning glare, then placed a hand on Sakura's head, cutting her off.

"I have to go." He said.

Sakura pouted. "Awwwww. Already?"

Ibiki grunted. "Yeah."

"Kay." Sakura gave him a quick hug. "Be careful."

Ibiki flicked her forehead. "I should be the one saying that." He sent Sasuke and Naruto a look before he turned away. "Stay safe."

Sakura nodded, a gentle smile on her face.

* * *

Once the two teams had taken to the trees, Kakashi stopped them. "Before we go any further, we should introduce ourselves." He said cheerily.

Team Seven glanced at each other.

"Why do we have to do that?" Neji demanded. "We're only going to be working together for this mission." He shot Team Seven a look of distaste. Sasuke and Naruto gladly glared right back.

"Because during missions, we have to rely on each other and trust one another with our lives." Kakashi said, a bit more firmly.

"My youthful team shall go first!" The other Jounin, Maito Gai, exclaimed.

Instantly, his clone jumped up. "I am Rock Lee, the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha!" He said. "Saku-"

"I'm Tenten." The girl with twin buns interrupted her teammate, smiling awkwardly. She glanced worriedly at the last of them.

"Hyuuga Neji." He finally said.

"So it speaks." Sasuke said, clearly meaning for the older boy to hear

The Hyuuga narrowed his eyes but Kakashi stepped in before a fight could break out. "I'm Hatake Kakashi." He said. "You first, Naruto."

"The name's Namikaze Naruto."

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"I'm Haruno Sakura."

Kakashi gave his Genin hair ruffles. "See? You can do it if you try." He casually stepped back to avoid the kunai that came for him.

"Now, my eternal rival, we should get going!" Gai exclaimed.

Kakashi nodded. "Sakura-chan, keep an eye out on our surroundings, will you?"

Sakura sent him a mock salute. "Aye Sir!"

Neji narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything.

* * *

 **NEW STORIES:**

 **The Core (Sakura x Akatsuki/Sakura x Multi):**

 **The Akatsuki are an Elite Police Authority group stationed in a city where the lives people are influenced by the predictions of a Supercomputer. The predictions had never been wrong ever since Version Sakura had been released. However, when the computer shuts down one day for no reason, they come across the horrifying truth and the Akatsuki must confront their twisted government.**

 _ **Those who walk the Realms of the dead (Sakura x Multi)**_ :

 **The Haruno clan are known for their unique relationship with the dead. To them, hearing whispers, seeing the ghosts wandering the planes and having their bodies taken over by spirits are common occurrences. However, once in a hundred years, the 'Reaper Child' is born. The chosen of this century, Sakura can walk the land of the dead at will, the limit to her powers unknown.**

* * *

 ** _Darque: So, more Sakura/Neji interaction to come._**

 **Raven: i just realized just how prissy he can be.**

 _ **Darque: Well, that's a part of the story.**_

 **Raven: I know. Also, his character seems familiar...**

 _ **Darque: That's cause he's like you when you're in a bad mood.**_

 **Raven:...**

 ** _Darque: What? It's the truth._**

 **Raven: I'm not _that_ prissy.**

 _ **Darque: You are.**_

 **Raven: I am definitely NOT.**

 _ **Darque: See?**_

* * *

 _ **Also, Happy Birthday to us! We're sixteen now!**_

 **Meh, so leave us an extra long review, okay?**

 **Read and Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter EIGHT**_

Team Seven and Team Gai set a pace that may possibly be considered rapid for teams of Genin. However, it seemed to do nothing but fuel the two teams.

Sakura was feeling nervous, because it was her first time outside the village since before Ibiki had found her. Despite that, between her peers, she was probably the person who had spent the most time outside the village walls.

The fact that she could see Tazuna lying through his teeth did not make her feel any better. She kept quiet, though. Ibiki had always said to observe before coming to a conclusion. However, for her, who can read one's emotions through chakra, hiding her feelings so that it was unnoticeable was an easy feat.

Naruto and Sasuke, for all their constant hovering, didn't notice anything.

However, Sakura did catch Neji glaring over in her directions a few times and the anger that had been directed her way through his chakra made her flinch.

And surprise, so did Sasuke and Naruto, who seemed to have taken it as some sort of personal threat. It was always one, or the other, or both, walking between her and the Hyuuga.

Between Lee's infatuated stares and Neji's unreadable glares, Sakura was more than willing to hide behind her teammates. Tenten kept shooting her sympathetic looks, probably because she understood the feeling of being trapped between Lee and Neji better than most.

She shook off the three sets of foreign eyes and focused on the path up ahead. Kakashi had entrusted her with keeping an eye on things.

* * *

Sakura decided that it was her that had been the first to notice. At first, it was a simple flicker at the far end of the path, too far for normal people with normal vision to see. After a while, she confirmed the lack of movement and she could now see the dark chakra signatures plastered across the ground.

She labeled them as either creepy stalkers or enemy shinobi, though she leaned towards the latter.

After a while of traveling, she had decided that the two enemy shinobi were camouflaging themselves as a puddle, or some other water related thing. She recognized the way the chakra was flowing. Once she was sure any skilled shinobi (Like Ibiki) could sense them, she shifted her gaze from the chakra signature and towards the two Jounin, who looked as though nothing was wrong.

She would have been fooled into thinking so too, had she not seen the change in their chakra flows.

They were getting ready for a fight.

She turned back to her teammates. Naruto was in an argument with Lee, something about flowers and youth while Sasuke and Neji stood by their respective teammate, morally supporting through glares even as they outwardly berated them.

Sakura hummed thoughtfully and turned her focus back to the chakra signature laying in wait. She casually slipped her hand into her pockets and fiddled with the supplies Anko had shoved onto her the day before her departure. Three packs of explosive tags, a dozen bombs containing poison, half a dozen smoke bombs, three paint bombs and a keychain with 'Anko-sama' written on it.

'Safety measures' Anko had said.

Actually, the woman had wanted to give her a collar at first, but Ibiki had put his foot down there.

Sakura really did not understand why Ibiki had been so against it. Even she could clearly see the benefits of carrying these weapons, and she couldn't really _see_ in the first place.

She weighed out her options. Should she blow the possible enemy shinobi into bits or should she wait for Kakashi and Gai to do whatever they were waiting to do?

Instantly, two voices began arguing in her head. And she decided that she did not like it.

It was like Ibiki trying to keep his temper while he told her to wait through gritted teeth while Anko cackled and told her to blow the creepy stalker shinobi to Kingdom Come.

Luckily for her, the enemy shinobi made that choice for her. She didn't even react when chains tore through the two Jounin, having seen the replacement technique being prepared long before it had been performed.

The first enemy shinobi received a smoke bomb to the face. That gave Sasuke and Naruto more than enough time to recover and the two of them knocked him to the ground.

With a slightly disturbing Ibiki worthy smirk, Sakura ran through a set of hand seals. "Kuchiyose: Gomon beya!"

Chains shot out of the ground. The enemy shinobi tried to struggle away but in seconds, he was restrained. The net surface of a cage appeared on the ground and the four walls lifted up, boxing Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto in with the chained down enemy shinobi.

Satisfied, Sakura turned to check on the second enemy. She sensed Kakashi and Gai appear even before she had completed her 180. Kakashi knocked out the other man with a clean blow to the back of the man's neck.

Sasuke shot a smug glare over at Neji, who gritted his teeth. His anger and annoyance spiked even more and Sakura watched the chakra run up into his eyes, his Byakugan activating.

Naruto glanced at Kakashi before he mouthed "Scaredy cats."

Sakura saw Kakashi's chakra spike in amusement and noticed the proud look he shot Gai and realized he felt the same. She looked down at the knocked out shinobi on the ground. "Hand him over, yeah?" She called happily. "We can chain him down too."

Kakashi eyed the cage structure, then the unconscious man at his feet. He glanced over at Gai then shrugged. He handed the man to Sakura who had him chained down with a few hand signs.

Sakura lowered one of the walls and she stepped out along with her teammates. She then securely locked it in place and crossed her arms. "What now?"

"You can move that thing, right?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura grinned. "Yup."

Kakashi nodded. "We'll bring them along and interrogate them when we have time." He wearily chuckled when Sakura's eyes began to glow.

"Do I get to do it?" Sakura asked. "Ibiki said I have potential!"

Kakashi nodded. "Uh...yes. You do that."

Sakura hummed and flew through a set of hand seals. As though pulled by an invisible strength, the cage was dragged underground.

"You knew they were there?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura nodded.

"Next time, you need to tell me these things." He said. "This mission is probably more than what we first thought it to be."

Sakura hummed. "Then, Tazuna-san is lying." She said. "He's been lying the whole time. I can see it."

The man flinched and shuffled nervously, and seemed to confirm something in Kakashi's mind.

Kakashi nodded. "I thought so too." He turned to the bridge builder and narrowed his eyes just a little. "Would you mind filling us in, Tazuna-san?"

* * *

Sakura was not interested in what Tazuna managed to stutter out under Kakashi's stern glare. She didn't know what that spoke of her as an interrogator but she didn't really care. There was a reason there was an interrogator and there were other people on the other side of a one way glass to listen in.

The awesome people only did their part. Ibiki and Anko were like that, so once she became as amazing as them, she would do that too.

Right now was an exception, because she had done a lot of work prior to this. She deserved this.

After hearing Tazuna's story regarding the Wave country, the bridge, and some dude named Gato, the two teams had decided to keep going.

Sakura did not really mind this and her teammates didn't seemed upset with this either. Even Team Gai seemed satisfied with this decision so Sakura decided to focus on keeping an eye out on their travelled path. Naruto and Sasuke led her down the path so that she could keep her full focus on their things in the distance.

"You see anything interesting?" Naruto asked. "Maybe like...a fish! Something like a fish. We can eat it for dinner."

"Fish is good." Sakura agreed. "And there's a lot of water there." She reached out towards the water and leaned over. "I see lots of them."

"Do your eyes help you catch fish?" Sasuke asked curiously. He clamped a firm hand onto Sakura's collar so that she didn't tip over.

Sakura shrugged and let the Uchiha pull her back. "Maybe. I mean, I can see them. That doesn't mean I can react fast enough to catch them."

"You think Kakashi can catch fish?" Naruto asked.

"With his hands." Sakura said.

"With his feet." Sasuke shot back.

"How about his mouth?" Naruto asked. "Like a bear."

She felt Tenten's chakra spike with disbelief in their direction and Neji's annoyance become stronger but after a second of consideration, she decided to ignore them. She was sensitive to chakra, especially to large flares like Naruto's, or strong bouts of emotion like from Team Gai, but other than that, it was also _everywhere_. If she focused enough, she could, to an extent, tune it out.

And that was when she saw it. Sakura was careful not to let anything show and her steps remain stable as though she hadn't noticed anything, but she had. A flare of angry, bloodthirsty chakra swept over them from a distance away, travelling in waves and too thin for anyone to notice. Sakura would have missed it too, if she hadn't turned away from her immediate surroundings. The owner of the chakra was perched pretty far away, on a tree, but the thin waves of chakra he could not hide from her eyes allowed her to trace it back to where he was watching them. She could see this clearly now that she was fully focused on it.

' _You need to tell me these things.'_

Sakura turned to her teacher, a smile on her face. "Kakashi?" She called.

"Hm?" The man smiled back.

"There's someone watching us."

Kakashi does not slow his steps. "Oh? Where from?"

Sakura gestured in the direction of the man. "That way." She wriggled her fingers, trying to convey waves. "His chakra is trickling towards us. I can see it."

Behind her, the Hyuuga draws chakra to his eyes and narrows them in the direction she had been pointing at. "There is noth-" He froze.

Sakura turned to him, deciding that they must have entered a range close enough that the Byakugan could see it too. Of course, the sacrifice of sight had come with certain superiorities over the Byakugan, one of them being increased range.

"Neji?" Tenten asked.

Neji nodded, eyes narrowed. "There is definitely someone there."

"And someone else." Sakura added, noticing something. "It's someone much younger, though."

"They are perched right above our planned path." Neji supplied.

Sakura remembered the map the team had looked at beforehand. That was something she could not do.

Kakashi and Gai glanced at each other.

"Can you tell if they've noticed we're here?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura shrugged. "I'd say no." She said. "No recognition flares, no changes in chakra. Just lots of anger and bloodlust." Actually, it was beginning to make her feel sick.

"They could be after our client." Gai suggested.

Kakashi nodded. "Tazuna-san, are there any other routes towards your village?"

The man frowned. "There are." He admitted. "But it might add several days to our travels, especially if we want to keep a distance from them."

Sakura raised two fingers. "Two, Kakashi. Two~"

"We're _eight_." Naruto agreed. "Can we really not take on two guys?"

"What if they're S-class criminals who can list two hundred different ways to remove your head from your body in five seconds?" Sasuke asked, though it seemed as though he had done so more to counter Naruto's point than to disagree with what they were actually saying.

"Kakashi can save us." Naruto said.

"Ibiki said Kakashi may look unreliable, but he isn't really when we need him to step up." Sakura pointed out. "

"Nii-san said the same." Sasuke agreed.

Kakashi stared blankly at his team of Genin. Tenten and Lee looked horrified, as though the act of mocking their Jounin teacher was unheard of. Neji looked as unreadable as ever and Gai was trying, and failing, to hold his laughter in.

They continued on for a while longer when Sakura suddenly shot her hands up into the air. "Wait! What? Wait! Nonononono-duck, incoming kitchen knife ohmygoddUCk!"

Kakashi had, of course, noticed the sword. Not as soon as Sakura probably had, but like a good teacher, he grabbed their client and dragged him down as a huge sword flew over their heads and embedded itself into a tree a little away.

"Two hundred different ways to remove your head." Naruto muttered. "I thought of one. Decapitation."

"Shut up." Sasuke hissed.

* * *

 **Okay...so...more than a year?**

 _ **Darque: Hi.**_

 **Raven: Hi**

 _ **Darque: Uh...yeah...sorry.**_

 **Raven:...This chapter was mega difficult to write. I don't even know why.**

 _ **Darque: All our future stories will have 1k words minimum, not 2k.**_

 **Raven: Regrets.**

 _ **Darque: Yeah, very regrets.**_

 **Raven: But maybe next chapter will be faster...yeah.**

 _ **Darque: Maybe...MAYBE.**_

 **Read and Review~**


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